Put all thoughts of Sgt. Bilko and The Pink Panther out of your mind: let us remember Steve Martin when he was at the top of his game, an uproariously funny comic with his own special brand of zany physical humour. All Of Me, directed by Carl Reiner, sees Martin starring as Roger Cobb, a struggling lawyer who unwittingly becomes host to the spirit of recently deceased millionairess Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) after her plan to transmigrate her soul into the body of stableman's daughter Terry (Victoria Tennant) goes terribly wrong.
With Edwina controlling one half of Roger's body, the silver haired comedian is given ample opportunity to showcase his wacky style of comedy and does so with gusto; the result is a memorable central performance from Martin in a consistently funny film that also sees co-star Tomlin on fine form as the lonely rich woman who, in death, learns to enjoy life and who finally makes a friend.
Breezy direction from Reiner ensures a lively pace, the action accompanied by a suitably jazzy score, with comedy highlights including Roger visiting the men's room with a little help from Edwina (tap tap),a hilarious courtroom scene wherein Edwina takes control while Roger sleeps, and a wonderfully silly bedroom scene where Roger attempts to have sex with Terry while Edwina is taking a nap.
All of Me
1984
Action / Comedy / Fantasy / Romance
All of Me
1984
Action / Comedy / Fantasy / Romance
Plot summary
Having just turned thirty-eight, Angeleno Roger Cobb is at a crossroads in his life. From a humble background, he is competent at his job as a lawyer at Burton Schuyler's prestigious firm, but is unsatisfied working on behalf of rich people and the problems of the one percent. Although he would rather eke out a life as a musician if he could, he would be more satisfied as a lawyer if he made partner and got better cases. While Roger always bringing his dog Bix to the office does not instill much confidence for Burton in Roger as partner material, Roger seriously dating Burton's daughter, Peggy Schuyler, may give him a path to partner, especially if he and Peggy get married. In the latest of those unsatisfying work tasks, he is asked by extremely wealthy client, single Edwina Cutwater, to make a change to her will. Edwina, a selfish middle aged woman who has never done a nice thing in her life, has always been sickly, and as such has not really enjoyed what life she has had despite her wealth. On her deathbed, Edwina now wants to deed her entire estate to Terry Hoskins, the beautiful adult daughter of her stableman, Fred Hoskins. The reason: Edwina plans to use the services of Tibetan swami Prahka Lasa to transfer her soul into Terry's body, Terry, in putting her wild past behind her, agreeing for her own soul to float into the ethers. In being in Terry's healthy body, Edwina, after her own body has given out, wants to enjoy what her money has not been able to buy for herself. Little does Edwina know that even if Terry did believe in the the swami's powers, Terry has no intention of giving up her body to Edwina, Terry planning to live the high life with Edwina's money after Edwina's death. Even after Edwina does die, she and Roger become more connected in body and soul, they, while needing to adjust to their time together, may get a better perspective of their respective lives.
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Martin at the top of his game.
Perfection comes in pairs.
Featuring one of the funniest on-screen duos in film history, this comedy of pratfalls is an absolute goofy delight that more than 35 years after being released, is still fresh and delightful. Steve Martin, a powerful L.A. lawyer by career and saxophone player by design, he ends up in one of the strangest ordeals ever thanks to his association with dying heiress Lily Tomlin whose plan to have her soul implanted in the body of the gardener's daughter, the alluring Victoria Tennant. Martin can't stand the spoiled Tomlin but by chance, her soul ends up in his body along side his thanks to a mixup by hysterically droll Richard Libertini as a swami.
With Tennant left the bulk of Tomlin's estate, it's not a surprise that she is agreeable, certain that Tomlin is looney tunes. But when she realizes that Tomlin is indeed inside Martin, Tennant schemes to get rid of Libertini and seduce Martin, even though it's obvious that they'll find out what she's up to. In the meantime, there's a lot of funny monkey business involving Martin's boss, Dana Elcar, whom he is representing in a very expensive divorce case.
This has a sensationally wacky script with a terrific ensemble including Selma Diamond as Martin's acerbic secretary, Madolyn Smith as Martin's girlfriend flustered by his behavior, Eric Christmas as Tennant's hardworking father and Jason Bernard as the blind saxophone player whom Martin often jams with. This has a ton of famous quotes, one involving Tomlin aiding Martin in relieving himself a real snorter. But the one I keep repeating is Libertini's delightfully accepted "Back in bowl" that seems like a throwaway line but is so much more. Why Martin didn't get an Oscar nomination for this (and several other terrific films) is one of Hollywood's biggest mistakes.
A nice change of pace.
During the early movie career of Steve Martin, he excelled at playing nutty, weirdo characters--and it was all a natural extension of his strange stand-up act. However, in 1984 he expanded his acting skills by appearing in a couple films where he played a relatively normal guy. I loved "The Lonely Guy" and today I finally got around to seeing "All of Me".
Roger (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who has been called to the home of an extremely narcissistic and unpleasant rich lady who is dying, Edwina (Lily Tomlin). What she asks of him convinces Roger that she's insane....she wants to will her fortune to a stranger who has agreed to allow Edwina's soul to enter her body! Apparently, she's found some weird guru who claims to be able to transfer her to another body. Also, she and Roger hate each other...and she is determined to destroy his career before she dies. However, through a freak accident, as she dies, the soul is transferred into Roger's...and the pair must learn to work together to locate the guru and have him remove her from Roger!
Of course, when Edwina and Roger are together, it's pretty goofy...no, it's VERY goofy. But in the moments before this, Martin plays the role rather straight...an interesting change of pace.
So is it any good? Yes...mostly because it's a nice change of pace for the actors...plus the story is most unusual, and I appreciate originality. Not among Martin's very best...but still quite good.